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Due to Years of Austerity, Cuts to Public Health Care, And An Anti-Science and Profiteering President, The United States Now Leads the World In Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in the World! And Now the Total Caronavirs Deaths in the United States are Over 20% of the Total Death in the Entire World!
Another Example Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capilalism Was Aware of the Danger of Cornovavirus Threat 4 Years Ago and Did Nothing!
During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three-Point Political Program: 1.Austerity, 2.Scapegoat Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants for Unemployment, and 3. The Iron Heel! Always Remember: That President Obama, With a Majority Democrat Legislature Supported the Wall Street Bailout and Remember, That he Established, in writing, the United States Capitalist Austerity Program. — The Race to the Bottom/Pauperization of the 99%!
Democracy?:As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99%, Only the 1% Voted For Austerity! The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not Just The 1% Who, Profit From Austerity!! Under Austerity, All of the World Will Eventually Be Pauperized, Humbled, and Desecrated Like Greece and Puerto Rico.! Socialism Means True Democracy, that the 99% Will Rule, Not the Few!
Image of the Day:
The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, further bolstered by the Multiple Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960, authorized cattlemen and sheep growers to use public land across the West to grow their personal businesses. Now, nearly a century later, the same law has enabled corporate cattleman to profit from some of America’s most picturesque forests, grasslands, and deserts. Where we hike, bike, raft, hunt and fish, cows and sheep are permitted to freely roam. In the 193 million acre National Forest System, grazing is authorized for 6,260 permit holders at the low cost of $1.35 per month for a cow/calf pair or five sheep, on over 102 million acres public land across 29 states. Unattended cows and sheep trample valuable wildlife habitat, graze on forage intended for deer and elk, and literally defecate all over the trails and water we explore with our families and friends, or find solace in alone. Yes, much like my child during witching hour, there is poop involved, a mess made, and complete chaos. However, this is not my private living room, these are the invaluable ecosystems of the Gila National Forest in New Mexico, the Colville National Forest of Washington, and the Arapaho National Forest of the Rocky Mountains, areas in which cows and sheep are invasive species. The aforementioned legislation is the parent that caves, gives toddlers what they are screaming for, in this case we’ll say a lollipop, and hopes for the best. — Of Toddlers, Wolves, and Public Lands Ranchers
Videos of the Day:
United States:
The United States is not a Democracy (A government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly)! Only the 1%, through their ownership of the Reublicrats and who profit from war and the war budget, vote for War and the war budget — A policy, which Gore Vidal called a Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace. — The 99% Should Decide On War — Not Just The 1% Who Profit From War! Under a Democracy, The 99% would have the right to vote on the policy of Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace! The United States takes from the poor and gives to the Rich.
We Do Not Live in A Democracy: The Majority Does Not Rule! —The 1% Minority Rules!: Why Government Mostly Helps People Who Need It the Least…Even During a Crisis In January 2020, the NASDAQ stock market’s index stood just under 10,000. In the March crash, it fell to 7,000. As of July 10, 2020, it hit 10,600. The U.S. government’s economic policies produced a “recovery” for the rich who own the vast bulk of stocks. Their holdings are worth more now than before COVID-19 hit us. The other major benchmarks for securities, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard and Poor 500, show similarly dramatic, slightly smaller recoveries. By Richard D. Wolff
The Opus Dei Supremes Endorse the New Jim Crow Poll Tax: US Supreme Court Upholds ‘Pay-to-Vote Scheme,’ Allowing Florida to Impose Poll Tax on Those With Felony Convictions US Supreme Court Upholds ‘Pay-to-Vote Scheme,’ Allowing Florida to Impose Poll Tax on Those With Felony Convictions “This Court’s order prevents thousands of otherwise eligible voters from participating in Florida’s primary election simply because they are poor,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent. By Julia Conley
Trump Condemned for Authoritarian ‘Abuse of Power’ as Secret Federal Police Snatch Protesters Off Portland Streets “Authoritarian governments, not democratic republics, send unmarked authorities after protesters. These Trump/Barr tactics designed to eliminate any accountability are absolutely unacceptable.” By Jake Johnson
Congress Urged to Reject ‘Hostage-Taking’ as Trump Threatens to Veto Any Covid-19 Bill That Doesn’t Cut Social Security “Beware of the payroll tax cut! It is just the administration’s attempt to cut Social Security and Medicare.” With President Donald Trump reportedly telling Republican lawmakers in private he will not sign Covid-19 relief legislation that doesn’t include a cut to the payroll tax—the primary funding mechanism for Social Security—advocacy groups urged Congress to “call Trump’s bluff” and pass a stimulus bill free of any stealth attacks on the New Deal program.By Jake Johnson
Environment:
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
There is no democracy in the United States! — Just democracy for the 1%! When the order in the United States is economic and social inequality. The slogan ‘Law and Order’ means the maintenance of that order— Rich 1% First and the poorest of the 99% last!. Real democracy means that we all share the wealth equally! —Roland Sheppard
John Lewis: “Where is OUR PARTY?”
FYI: My twin Brother, Roger Sheppard was staying in the same hotel that John Lewis was staying for the 1963 march on Washington. Roger talked with John Lewis and he told Roger that the march organizers had censored his planed speech. Lewis gave Roger a copy of his planned speech. Roger then gave the speech to my brother Barry Sheppard, and it was first publish by the Socialist Workers Party in the September 9, 1963 Issue of The Militant.
Original Draft of John Lewis’ Speech
We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of, for hundreds and thousands of our brothers are not here. They have no money for their transportation, for they are receiving starvation wages, or no wages at all.
In good conscience, we cannot support wholeheartedly the administration’s civil rights bill, for it is too little and too late. There’s not one thing in the bill that will protect our people from police brutality.
This bill will not protect young children and old women from police dogs and fire hoses, for engaging in peaceful demonstrations: This bill will not protect the citizens in Danville, Virginia, who must live in constant fear in a police state. This bill will not protect the hundreds of people who have been arrested on trumped up charges. What about the three young men in Americus, Georgia, who face the death penalty for engaging in peaceful protest?
The voting section of this bill will not help thousands of black citizens who want to vote. It will not help the citizens of Mississippi, of Alabama and Georgia, who are qualified to vote but lack a sixth-grade education. “ONE MAN, ONE VOTE” is the African cry. It is ours, too. It must be ours.
People have been forced to leave their homes because they dared to exercise their right to register to vote. What is there in this bill to ensure the equality of a maid who earns $5 a week in the home of a family whose income is $100,000 a year?
For the first time in one hundred years this nation is being awakened to the fact that segregation is evil and that it must be destroyed in all forms. Your presence today proves that you have been aroused to the point of action.
We are now involved in a serious revolution. This nation is still a place of cheap political leaders who build their careers on immoral compromises and ally themselves with open forms of political, economic and social exploitation. What political leader here can stand up and say, “My party is the party of principles?” The party of Kennedy is also the party of Eastland. The party of Javits is also the party of Goldwater. Where is our party?
In some parts of the South we work in the fields from sunup to sundown for $12 a week. In Albany, Georgia, nine of our leaders have been indicted not by Dixiecrats but by the federal government for peaceful protest. But what did the federal government do when Albany’s deputy sheriff beat attorney C. B. King and left him half dead? What did the federal government do when local police officials kicked and assaulted the pregnant wife of Slater King, and she lost her baby?
It seems to me that the Albany indictment is part of a conspiracy on the part of the federal government and local politicians in the interest of expediency.
I want to know, which side is the federal government on?
The revolution is at hand, and we must free ourselves of the chains of political and economic slavery. The nonviolent revolution is saying, “We will not wait for the courts to act, for we have been waiting for hundreds of years. We will not wait for the President, the Justice Department, nor Congress, but we will take matters into our own hands and create a source of power, outside of any national structure, that could and would assure us a victory.”
To those who have said, “Be patient and wait,” we must say that “patience” is a dirty and nasty word. We cannot be patient, we do not want to be free gradually. We want our freedom, and we want it now. We cannot depend on any political party, for both the Democrats and the Republicans have betrayed the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence.
We all recognize the fact that if any radical social, political and economic changes are to take place in our society, the people, the masses, must bring them about. In the struggle, we must seek more than civil rights; we must work for the community of love, peace and true brotherhood. Our minds, souls and hearts cannot rest until freedom and justice exist for all people.
The revolution is a serious one. Mr. Kennedy is trying to take the revolution out of the streets and put it into the courts. Listen, Mr. Kennedy. Listen, Mr. Congressman. Listen, fellow citizens. The black masses are on the march for jobs and freedom, and we must say to the politicians that there won’t be a “cooling-off” period.
All of us must get in the revolution. Get in and stay in the streets of every city, every village and every hamlet of this nation until true freedom comes, until the revolution is complete. In the Delta of Mississippi, in southwest Georgia, in Alabama, Harlem, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and all over this nation, the black masses are on the march!
We won’t stop now. All of the forces of Eastland, Bamett, Wallace and Thurmond won’t stop this revolution. The time will come when we will not confine our marching to Washington. We will march through the South, through the heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did. We shall pursue our own scorched earth policy and burn Jim Crow to the ground — nonviolently. We shall fragment the South into a thousand pieces and put them back together in the image of democracy. We will make the action of the past few months look petty. And I say to you, WAKE UP AMERICA!
Labor:
Economy:
As Chief Executive Officer at NEIMAN MARCUS GROUP LTD LLC, Geoffroy van Raemdonck made $11,106,694 in total compensation. Of this total $461,539 was received as a salary, $1,936,202 was received as a bonus, $6,126,750 was received in stock options, $2,144,000 was awarded as stock and $438,203 came from other types of compensation. This information is according to proxy statements filed for the 2018 fiscal year.
Neiman Marcus Asks Bankruptcy Court For Permission To Give Raises To CEO And Executives “Neiman Marcus is asking the bankruptcy court to give raises to chief executive officer Geoffroy van Raemdonck, seven additional executives who make up the C-suite and as many as 239 key employees. The proposed retention and performance-based compensation plan covers staff who are ‘critical to day-to-day operations,’ the company’s financial performance and the success of its restructuring in bankruptcy, according to a court filing. Maximum compensation for van Raemdonck and seven others would reach $9.95 million if the company’s reorganization plan is confirmed by Sept. 15 and drops to $2.49 million if the plan is confirmed on Nov. 15. Most of that additional compensation would go to van Raemdonck, who would receive a minimum award of $1.5 million and a maximum of $6 million.
Economic Crisis and the Question of Capitalism On the precipice of what will likely be the worst economic crisis in modern history, the question not being asked is: why capitalism? To date, temporary government payments— tilted largely toward the rich, have sustained some parts of the pre-pandemic economy through a state of suspended animation that ended in fits and starts with reopening. In January 2020, the NASDAQ stock market’s index stood just under 10,000. In the March crash, it fell to 7,000. As of July 10, 2020, it hit 10,600. The U.S. government’s economic policies produced a “recovery” for the rich who own the vast bulk of stocks. Their holdings are worth more now than before COVID-19 hit us. The other major benchmarks for securities, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard and Poor 500, show similarly dramatic, slightly smaller recoveries. By Rob Urie
Here’s What Everyone, Including Mary Trump, Gets Wrong About Donald Trump’s Failed Response to COVID-19 It’s no wonder that American citizens are receiving just a tiny snippet of critical news from mainstream media. Federal regulators have set a new low in withholding documents that the public and the media are entitled to under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). These censored documents could inform us on what’s really driving policy decisions in Washington. Take our latest FOIA brush with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Foreign central banks and sovereign wealth funds are required under law to report their publicly-traded U.S. stock positions no later than 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. This is done on Form 13F, which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, if those stock holdings reach $100 million or more. The central bank of Israel, known simply as the Bank of Israel, has not been doing that for years, or if it has, the SEC has not been making the information public. The Bank of Israel files a 13F form but simply lists the names of the investment management firms it is using to manage its stock portfolio. It includes a file number for each investment manager but that file number does not unlock any publicly available information on the dollar amount or the names of the stocks owned by the Bank of Israel. We know that the Bank of Israel, as of the end of 2019, held at least 7 percent of its $126 billion in foreign exchange reserves in U.S. stocks because that information is available on the website of the Bank of Israel. That would mean that it owns somewhere in the neighborhood of $8.82 billion in U.S. stocks, just with those foreign exchange reserves. But it could have other significant holdings as well. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World:
Class Disparities and Child Abuse in Ireland 2020 The newly formed government of the Twenty-Six County state in Ireland has been in existence less than a month but is already mired in several controversies; the usual circuses thrown up by capitalist society with governments lurching from each to the next without any alteration to the status quo. By Kerron Ó Luain
Education, Health, Science, and Welfare:
The government of the United States can pass laws in a few days to spend tens of trillions of dollars for war and the bailout of Wall Street and the bankers. Yet, those who ‘governn’, pass universal healthcare for themselves, but they cannot spend even one trillion dollars for universal health for those who are ‘governed’! This is what is considered, by the powers to be, a democracy and part of the democratic way. — Roland Sheppard, Let the People Vote on Healthcare
Trump Proves That He is a Psychopath And Capable of Depraved Indifference Murder:!:
‘Should Tell You All You Need to Know’: Trump Attempting to Block Billions in New Funding for Covid-19 Testing “Testing saves lives by detecting people who are infectious but don’t know it, and allowing them to self-isolate. I try to avoid hyperbole but I can’t think what to call this other than attempted murder.” With coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths rising in states across the U.S., the Trump administration is reportedly attempting to block the inclusion of billions of dollars in new funding for Covid-19 testing and contact tracing in the next stimulus legislation. The Washington Post, citing anonymous officials, reported late Saturday that the White House’s opposition to funding for coronavirus testing “has angered some GOP senators… and some lawmakers are trying to push back and ensure that the money stays in the bill.” “One person involved in the talks said Senate Republicans were seeking to allocate $25 billion for states to conduct testing and contact tracing, but that certain administration officials want to zero out the testing and tracing money entirely,” the Post reported. The relief bill is being written in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office and formal negotiations are expected to begin next week, when senators return from recess. By Jake Johnson
Laura Gray’s cartoon from the front page of The Militant August 18, 1945, Under the Banner Headline: “There Is No Peace”
Quotes of the Day:
DeVos Courts Disaster By Claiming It’s Safe To Reopen Schools
‘Congress Must Reject This Dangerous Proposal’: Draft of McConnell Corporate Immunity Plan Sparks AlarmMcConnell’s proposal, warned one advocacy group, “would ensure that workers, consumers, and students have absolutely no recourse when corporations recklessly disregard their health. By Jake Johnson